Drilling systems can be used for drilling well boreholes in the earth for extracting fluids, such as oil, water, and gas. The drilling systems include a drill string for boring the well borehole into a formation that contains the fluid to be extracted. The drill string includes tubing or a drill pipe, such as a pipe made-up of jointed sections, and a drilling assembly attached to the distal end of the drill string. The drilling assembly includes a drill bit at the distal end of the drilling assembly. Typically, the drill string, including the drill bit, is rotated to drill the well borehole. Often, the drilling assembly includes a mud motor that rotates the drill bit for boring the well borehole.
Obtaining downhole measurements during drilling operations is known as measurement while drilling (MWD) or logging while drilling (LWD). A downhole device, such as an MWD tool, is programmed with information such as which measurements to take and which data to transmit back to the surface while it is on the surface. The downhole device is then securely sealed from the environment and the high pressures of drilling and put into the well borehole. After the downhole device is retrieved from the well borehole, it is unsealed to retrieve data from the downhole device using a computer. To use the downhole device again, the device is sealed and put back into the well borehole. This process of sealing and unsealing the downhole device is time consuming and difficult, and if done wrong very expensive to fix, which increases the cost of drilling the well.